This invention relates generally to paperboard containers and more particularly relates to a new and improved bathtub shipping package which has improved features that allow the bathtub to be suspended within the package for improved resistance to damage occurring during shipping and storage of similar packaged bathtubs on top of each other.
In the handling of residential bathtubs formed of pressed steel, special problems are encountered in preparing the bathtubs for shipping and storage due to the large heavy size of the bathtubs as well as their finished surfaces which must be free from damage when installed in the ultimate user's home. It is known in prior art bathtub containers to form the container by manufacturing a wooden crate and placing the bathtub therein for shipment to the consumer. Such containers while protecting the bathtub during the trip to the consumer, often increase the handling problems of the tub due to the extra weight encountered with the use of the heavy wooden frame used to surround the bathtub.
It is also known to reduce the weight of the heavy wooden crates by the use of a combination wood and paperboard without destroying the effectiveness of the protection afforded by the container. Such efforts utilized a combination of wooden end caps in conjunction with paperboard top and bottom panels which are banded to the wooden end caps at the end of the package. This type of package, while serving its ultimate purpose, still required fabrication of heavy wooden end caps which added greatly to the cost of the entire package.
Attempts have been made to utilize an all paperboard shipping package which eliminated the wooden slats of reinforcement hereinbefore mentioned but obtained the cushioning effect around the bathtub edges at the expense of having to use many cardboard padded pieces placed at various critical positions within the package for cushioning that portion of the bathtub during shipment. Other attempts were made to achieve the necessary structural stability by using an elongated wooden rod at the lower rear feet of the tube in combination with a partial wooden end frame and a paperboard overlaying tube in combination with previously tried cardboard cushions. This type of design, like other attempted designs using wood framing, was expensive to manufacture and did not provide the ultimate in a desired shipping container from the consumer's standpoint.
The prior art efforts at forming and perfecting a shipping package having a tube member and a pair of end caps for use in packaging a bathtub or the like are typified by the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 1,054,655 L. J. Ives February 25, 1913 2,651,448 J. L. Dusseault September 8, 1953 3,099,351 D. F. Coffey, Jr. July 30, 1963 3,181,768 T. W. Flynn et al May 4, 1965 3,194,395 D. M. Weaver et al July 13, 1965 3,289,825 R. K. Smith December 6, 1966 3,386,567 R. K. Smith June 4, 1968 3,486,612 R. J. Kivell December 30, 1969 3,487,914 D. M. Weaver et al January 6, 1970 3,521,744 R. K. Smith July 28, 1970 3,616,986 R. E. Wolfe et al November 2, 1971 3,680,688 R. K. Smith August 1, 1972 3,757,935 E. A. Coons et al September 11, 1973 3,773,171 R. N. Edsall November 20, 1973 ______________________________________
One problem typically occurring in the handling of bathtubs such as those packaged in the bathtub container is the condition described as "pop off" in the porcelain of the tub. As happens on many occasions, the bathtub package may be accidentally dropped from a forklift truck that happens to be moving the package or from a dolly with the bottom feet of the tub or a bottom portion of the tub receiving a severe blow as that portion hits the ground resulting in pieces of porcelain from the tub popping off or loosening so that the appearance of the tub is impaired.